The Feeling is Mutual
by Adorkablenerd21
Summary: Storybrooke's Fall Festival needs actors for Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night or What you Will' and Regina and Emma both volunteer.
1. Chapter 1

The Feeling is Mutual

When Emma heard the news, it took her all of five minutes to drive straight over to the Mayor's office, because there was no way in hell she was going to let this happen. It didn't matter if she was on duty-this took precedence over whatever crime was taking place, which didn't happen often anyway. She stomped into Regina's office without a hello or any politeness whatsoever, much as she had when she had found out Regina had published the story of how Henry was born in prison.

"No way, Regina. There is no way Henry is going to be in a ballet recital. He will be crucified by all the other boys."

Regina did not look surprised to see her. "Are you saying you want to teach him that it is something to be ashamed of? I, for one, do not believe in gender constructs. This will teach Henry not to discriminate because of that."

"Okay, but I'm teaching him some karate then, because he'll have to learn to defend himself if he's going to be dancing the Nutcracker along with a bunch of girls. Does he even want to do that?"

Regina looked down, trying to hide her shame. "No, but I promised that we would help out with the Storybrooke Fall Festival this year, and the only thing left that Henry could sign up for was ballet."

Emma grimaced. "Poor kid. Can't…I don't know, can't you like…sign up for something yourself to save your son getting a black eye and a soiled reputation for the rest of his life?"

"Oh, so he's _my_ son now, is he? _I _have to do something? Why don't you sign up for something, Miss Swan? You claim he is your son as well; prove it."

Emma huffed. Regina was so over the line. "Fine, you royal pain the ass, I will."

Regina watched the blonde stalk out of her office, a smile playing on her lips. It was so easy to manipulate Miss Swan sometimes, it almost made it boring. Almost.

Revenge was just too sweet. Not that she appreciated being called 'a royal pain in the ass.' At least the royal part was true, because of course she wasn't a pain in the ass. How could she be? Emma didn't own a mule.

Henry was relieved when he heard that he didn't have to wear a leotard, and he was so grateful to Emma for helping him out, that Regina became wracked with jealousy. Her resolve to just let Emma help out with the festival was breaking; she wanted Henry to look at her the same way he looked at Emma. So she called the Fall Festival organizers and asked if there was anything left she could sign up for.

There was one thing left; the drama department was putting on _Twelfth Night or What You Will_, and they needed actors for it. The festival was only two months away, so it was urgent to get the show casted, and Regina jumped at the chance. She would show Henry that she loved him. She would show him who the better mother was. And lastly, she would show Sherriff Swan that messing with her was a bad idea.

Little did she know that Emma had signed up for the exact same activity.

Emma sat at the bar, drinking her 2nd shot, not caring that she had to work in the morning. She was on a budget, and plus she was her own boss, which made it even better. Well, technically, Regina was her boss, but why quibble over details?

August Booth was sitting with her as an unofficial chaperone even though she kept insisting she didn't need one. There was no reason she needed to be babysat; she had just had a long day, that was it, and why the fuck did he care? It was just Regina being her usual self, arrogant, bitchy and vindictive. Same old, same old.

She didn't ask herself why it seemed to always be Regina who drove her to drink. But August, the stupid asshole, brought it up anyway.

"Why is that a common theme with you?" He asked as she ordered her third scotch.

Emma turned to him, not tipsy yet but definitely getting there. "What do you mean?"

"Why do I always find you here after you and Regina have butted heads?"

"Maybe because you're stalking me?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

August chuckled. "Or maybe it's because she is the only person who can get under your skin. Make you crazy, make you want to drown your feelings."

Emma sighed. "It's this stupid festival coming up. She guilt-tripped me into signing up for this stupid play, and I don't even like acting. But, classic Regina, she used our son as blackmail." Emma gave a mirthless laugh and downed her drink in one gulp, opening her mouth as the burning liquid assaulted her liver.

"What play is it?"

"Shakespeare."

August gasped. "How can you call that stupid?"

Emma frowned, then realization hit. "Oh, that's right, you're a writer. Sorry."

When Regina showed up for auditions at the Storybrooke Community Center, she was grinning evilly. She knew that she would get called back; she had to, because the organizers were desperate—they really needed actors. She prided herself that she wasn't too bad at it either, and besides, who would have the guts to reject her?

All of her bravado flew away like a runaway kite when she saw the dreadfully familiar red jacket nestled under a mane of blond hair. She grumbled and was about to turn tail and run when one of the organizers called for her, seeming surprised that she showed up. Regina regretted that decision.

The head organizer-Gayle was her name-told everyone to sit down and wait for their name to be called. Everyone auditioned and most of them were horrible. The only one who showed any promise was Miss Swan, and Regina was certainly shocked by that. Why she couldn't escape this infuriating woman was a mystery she would never be able to solve.

When Emma saw Regina, she didn't hide her misery. She kicked a chair in her anger over getting stuck yet again with this woman. The feeling was certainly mutual. They stayed on opposite sides of the room, not deigning to look at each other. When Regina was called up to audition, she read the lines offered with gusto and feeling, trying not to glare daggers at the blonde who she was sure was smirking at her.

"But rather reason thus than reason fetter," Regina spoke. "Love sought is good, but given unsought is better." She nodded and gave a cocky grin, sure that no one in the town could top her acting skills. Gayle got up hurriedly and clasped her hands together.

"Thank you, Madam Mayor, that was good." She addressed the crowd. "Okay people, we will be sending out emails to each of you who gets called back, and then we will cast each of you. If you don't have a preference of the character you wish to audition for, one will be picked for you. See you next week!" With that, Gayle and the rest of the committee took away the makeshift table set up in the auditorium and left.

Emma couldn't get out of there fast enough. She sprinted out of the room, not looking back. She did not want to think about what Regina had blackmailed her into doing. She wanted so badly to confront the woman on it, to call her out, but she knew it would go nowhere. Her next option was just to grin and bear it, hoping like hell she and Regina didn't have many scenes together. She tried her hardest to put on a smile, reminding herself that she was doing this so her son wouldn't have to be a ballerina.

The next week, Regina and Emma were called back, along with several others. They were cast and Regina was pleased to see that she would be playing Lady Olivia. Someone named David would be playing Duke Orsino, his friend Samuel Holden would play Sebastian, and Emma Swan was cast as Cesario.

"Miss Swan, can I have a word?" Regina had snuck up beside Emma, standing right at her shoulder. When she spoke Emma jumped. She was still on a buzz from the coffee she had had that morning.

"Wha—oh, hello, Madame Mayor. I was just leaving, I…um…don't see why I still need to be here." They were in the auditorium of the community center, just finishing their first acting lessons. They were given scripts and told to memorize them, that was pretty much it. Emma knew she should get home to study hers, but someone was keeping her from that.

"You haven't read the script, have you Miss Swan?"

Emma bit her lip. "No, I just got it—"

"Have you ever read this play before?"

"No…I read Romeo and Juliet in school, but that was the only Shakespeare play I've ever read."

"Well, I'll have you know that your character and mine are… romantically involved in this play. It is an interesting love triangle and I think it would be good for you to acquaint yourself with it."

Emma groaned. "You mean you and I have scenes together?"

"Yes, Miss Swan. Trust me, I don't like it either. Having to kiss you? I'd rather rinse my own mouth out with soap."

"Wait—wait a second." Emma had started to feel her head spin. "You and I have to kiss?" She riffled through the script hard enough to tear the pages. "Where in the hell does it say that?"

Regina would be enjoying seeing Emma this hot and bothered if it wasn't for the fact that she was a little insulted. Regina rolled her eyes and took Emma's script, feeling unwanted goosebumps as their hands brushed. She gulped and pointed to Act III, Scene I.

"Right after I—I mean, Olivia says "'Love sought is good, but given unsought is better', she kisses Cesario." Regina closed her eyes, trying not to picture it.

Emma was still incredulous. "But—I—but this is just—"

"I know. As I said before, dear, the feeling is mutual. Enjoy your evening." Regina strolled away, suppressing the urge to rip Sherriff Swan's head off.


	2. Chapter 2

Gayle was sweating profusely, trying to get Emma to calm down and just say her lines, because even though Shakespeare was meant to be interpreted, she didn't really want Olivia and Cesario to have a fight scene. It wouldn't do, because _Twelfth Night_ was supposed to be a comedy. If the main characters were punching each other in the face, it would add spice, sure, but she didn't want blood on the stage.

Every practice had been a tension filled event when it came to Regina Mills and Emma Swan. Gayle almost regretted casting them together, because the very air crackled with the apparent hatred these women had for each other. They didn't want to work together, and it had been like babysitting children who just didn't want to behave. They brought out the worst in each other, and Gayle had just about had enough.

"Emma!" She shouted. "When you push Regina away, try not to knock her into the wall. Do it with less force, please."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Isn't my character supposed to push her?"

"Yes, but not hard enough to make her fall."

"Fine." Emma sounded like a 5 year old getting scolded. This was a nightmare.

"From the top!" Gayle demanded.

To her credit, Regina slipped into character quite easily, donning a lovesick expression and boring holes into Emma's skull. Emma gulped and met her gaze, trying to remember that this was just acting.

Emma spoke first. "My duty, madam, and most humble service." She gave a bow, and Regina smirked at how appropriate it was. She was a queen, after all. It was nice to get some recognition for it in this world.

"What is your name?" Regina asked, determined to embody her character well.

"Cesario is your servant's name, fair princess."

"My servant, sir! 'Twas never merry world since lowly feigning was call'd compliment. You're servant to the Count Orsino, youth." Regina smiled, moving upstage, closer to Emma. Olivia was supposed to be madly in love with Cesario at this point.

"And he is yours, and his must needs be yours: Your servant's servant is your servant, madam." Emma found it hard to just say Madam without tacking on the word 'Mayor' at the end. It was also hard for her to stay in character with Regina staring at her like she wanted to rip her clothes off right on the stage.

"For him, I think not on him: for his thoughts, would they were blanks rather than fill'd with me!"

"Madam, I come to whet your gentle thoughts on his behalf."

Gayle Bernard was surprised at the progress Regina and Emma were making. They were about a quarter through the act and neither one had messed up their lines or threatened to kill each other. It was a new record for them both and she was proud. She knew they had yet to kiss, however, and she was scared to breach the subject. She was sure that was the last thing these two wanted to do…and yet…maybe there was something underneath their hatred. She refocused her attention-they were getting close to the end of the act.

"O! by your leave, I pray you, I bade you never speak again of him: But, would you undertake another suit, I had rather hear you to solicit that than music from the spheres."

"Dear lady,—"

"Give me leave, beseech you. I did send, after the last enchantment you did here, a ring in chase of you: so did I abuse myself, my servant, and, I fear me, you: Under your hard construction must I sit, To force that on you, in a shameful cunning, Which you knew none of yours: what might you think? Have you not set mine honour at the stake, And baited it with all th' unmuzzled thoughts that tyrannous heart can think? To one of your receiving Enough is shown; a cypress, not a bosom, hideth my heart. So, let me hear you speak."

"I pity you."

"That's a degree to love."

"No, not a grize; for 'tis a vulgar proof that very oft we pity enemies." Emma said these words, noticing how they were oddly relatable. Did Gayle plan this? Emma wondered.

"Why, then methinks 'tis time to smile again. O world! how apt the poor are to be proud. If one should be a prey, how much the better To fall before the lion than the wolf! The clock upbraids me with the waste of time. Be not afraid, good youth, I will not have you: And yet, when wit and youth is come to harvest, Your wife is like to reap a proper man: There lies your way, due west." Regina pointed, stepping back.

"Then westward-ho! Grace and good disposition attend your ladyship! You'll nothing, madam, to my lord by me?"

"Stay: I prithee, tell me what thou think'st of me."

"That you do think you are not what you are." Emma stepped back from Regina, as per Gayle's instructions.

"If I think so, I think the same of you." Regina stepped right back, giving a silent challenge.

"Then think you right: I am not what I am."

"I would you were as I would have you be!"

"Would it be better, madam, than I am? I wish it might, for now I am your fool."

"O! what a deal of scorn looks beautiful in the contempt and anger of his lip. A murderous guilt shows not itself more soon Than love that would seem hid; love's night is noon." Regina's voice was full of emotion, as she gripped Emma's clothing, holding her fast. "Cesario, by the roses of the spring, By maidhood, honour, truth, and everything, I love thee so, that, maugre all thy pride, Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide. Do not extort thy reasons from this clause, For that I woo, thou therefore hast no cause; But rather reason thus with reason fetter, Love sought is good, but giv'n unsought is better." Regina breathed, knowing this was the moment that she and Emma—Olivia and Cesario—were supposed to kiss. She decided to just get it over with, promising herself she would spend a half an hour rinsing her mouth out with mouthwash before she went to bed.

She grabbed Emma's head and pulled it close to her own, then nipped at her lips playfully. After three seconds she released her, stepping back and smirking at the dumbstruck look on Emma's face. It took a few seconds for Emma to remember her lines.

"By innocence I swear, and by my youth, I have one heart, one bosom, and one truth, And that no woman has; nor never none Shall mistress be of it, save I alone. And so adieu, good madam: never more Will I my master's tears to you deplore." Emma walked away.

"Yet come again, for thou perhaps mayst move that heart, which now abhors, to like his love."

Gayle stood up and clapped, relieved that the two enemies had managed to pull off acting together. "That was great, you two! Whatever you are doing, keep it up!" She gulped her water and went to help the actor playing Malvolio with his lines.

Emma frowned at Regina. "You didn't tell me you were going to kiss me."

Regina laughed, giving that perfected smirk that she knew Emma hated. "I think you know that I am full of surprises, Miss Swan."

Emma did not know how to process anyo of this. Her brain could only handle so much at a time. And if she was not mistaken, Regina was being kind of flirtatious.

Why though? Emma could not handle this right now. She had to go.

"Well, yeah. Um, see you next week!" Emma smiled, not knowing why. She REALLY needed to go, before she found herself enjoying this woman's company. She turned and walked out into the rain, not caring that she did not have an umbrella.

Regina followed her, rambling on about how she did not want to get sick to get out of the play. She had an umbrella, and walked Emma out to the parking lot. Emma let Regina help her, then clambered into her car and drove off. As Regina watched her, she thought about their kiss.

It was not as horrible as she thought it would be.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma sat in the Sherriff's office, hearing the rain pour down on the windows. She was glad no one had called; she did not want to be out in this weather. She had just picked up lunch from Granny's and was enjoying her sandwich when Ruby showed up in a red raincoat, panting like she had just run a marathon. She was smiling, however, and Emma's mind flew immediately to the gutter. She knew that Ruby and August had a thing for each other, and the look on Ruby's face made her wonder if they had finally admitted it. She didn't want to pry, though. She had better things to think about anyway. The play was only 2 weeks away and even though she had memorized her lines, she wanted to be sure she said them with emotion and feeling. She decided to practice at work since there was nothing better to do.

Ruby interrupted her, though. "Emma, someone called about losing their umbrella. Do you want me to go check it out?"

Emma sighed. "No, I can go. What's the address?"

Emma spent an hour trying to track down an umbrella that an elderly woman, Mrs. Pemberly, had left in a park somewhere. She finally found it on the ground near an old oak tree, and just as she bent down to pick it up, lightning struck, hitting the tree. A branch cracked, giving an ominous groaning sound, which Emma heard loud and clear. She started to run, yelling at the woman to run too. She looked up at the branch. The lightning had hit the tree in the dead center, and the branch that was falling looked to be heavy and thick. Emma acted fast. She ran to Mrs. Pemberly, practically picking her up and running with her. She was not fast enough, though.

She shoved Mrs. Pemberly out of harm's way a second before the branch came crashing down on her.

"What happened? What happened to my mom?" Henry was on the verge of tears. He pushed past Dr. Whale and broke into a sob as he saw Emma on a hospital bed, unconscious and hooked up to an IV. Regina was right behind him, feeling tears in her eyes. Damn Miss Swan for being so heroic and stupid. Who was going to be Cesario now? Who was going to help with Henry?

"She has two broken ribs, a broken leg and some cranial damage." Dr. Whale informed them. "She is stable for now, but we need to get the bleeding in the brain under control. If we do that, she will be okay."

"Will she need surgery?" Regina asked.

"Dr. Whale nodded. "We will prep her and do the procedure tomorrow."

"Can I wake her up?" Henry asked, crying openly now.

"I think you should let her rest, Henry." Dr. Whale said, then left them.

Regina stared at the helpless woman in the bed, wondering how the hell she managed to get herself into this fix. She heard the door open and saw an elderly woman step towards the bed.

"Who are you?" Regina almost growled, taking a protective stance in front of Emma's body.

"I'm Mrs. Pemberly. This woman saved my life." The woman started to cry, trying to explain.

Regina listened to the story and rolled her eyes. It would be just like Miss Swan to brave a storm just to help someone. If it were up to Regina she would have told the old woman to buy another umbrella, for God's sake. But no, Miss Swan had to always help out. And she risked her life to save this woman's. Regina had never seen a braver act in her life.

But she could not stand the crying. Henry was crying, the old bat was crying. Such weaklings. She certainly wasn't going to cry. Not over Sherriff Swan. The funny thing was, the thought that rushed to the forefront of her mind was that Emma would not be able to be in the play, and she would have to act with some freckle faced understudy who would mess up the lines and ruin everything. Miss Swan just had to go and get hurt. Even in her unconscious state she had managed to screw everything up. When Henry turned to Regina and buried his face in her stomach, she held him close, realizing just how much he was hurting. She bit her lip, unwarranted tears filling her eyes. She blinked, determined to not let them fall. Miss Swan—Emma—was not dead yet. She would not die; she couldn't. If she did…

The curse would break. Regina would not let that happen. She convinced herself that _that _was the reason she wanted the Sherriff to get better. It wasn't like she cared about her or anything. But she did care about Henry, and he would probably think it was her fault somehow and never talk to her again. Not that that would be much worse than the way he was treating her now. But the life she had built would all fall to nothing, because of Emma. All of these thoughts rushing in her head was what caused the first tear to fall. Feeling her son hugging her was what made the tears pour.

Emma woke up, horrified to find she had a tube shoved into her olfactory nerve. She gave a gasp and blinked a few times, trying to focus on where she was. What the hell had happened to her? And why did she feel a draft? Oh, she was wearing a paper thin hospital gown. Really, would it kill the nurses to dress the patients in cotton?

Emma was pondering this when she a whole group of people came into focus. She recognized David, Kathryn, Archie, and several other townspeople, including Ruby. They were trying not to crowd her, so they all just looked at her, smiling, telling her they knew she would be okay, which kind of freaked her out. What had happened? She tried to sit up, then saw an elderly woman push to the front of the group.

Her face was familiar, Emma thought.

Oh, this was the woman she saved. The memory of the storm, and of feeling a huge branch fall on her came flooding back. She lied back down on the bed.

Before Mrs. Pemberly could speak, Regina and Henry came into view.

"Emma! Emma, are you okay?"

Emma smiled, pleased to see Henry so happy. "Yeah, kid, I'm good. I hope I don't have to stay here too long."

"Well, I'm so glad you're not dead. Here's a get well card, though I guess you don't really need it now. Mom signed it, too." Henry positively beamed.

"She did?" Emma couldn't dial down her shock.

Regina noticed. "Really, Miss Swan, you insult me. Do you think I want you to die? Who would I have to argue with constantly if you did?"

Regina had a twisted sense of humor, Emma had to admit. But she laughed anyway.

David and Kathryn gave their get well wishes, and by the end of the day, so had everyone in the whole freaking town. At least it seemed that way to Emma. She didn't know what she did to be admired so unconditionally, but…she kind of liked it. She enjoyed being a part of something, and being appreciated. Dr. Whale made her stay another week to ensure full recovery. When she came home Mary Margaret hugged her, making her wince because of the soft spot on her ribs where she was still bruised. The brunette noticed and would not stop apologizing for a whole week.

Soon, the last week of rehearsals approached, and Regina was excited and relieved that Miss Swan would be able to be in the play after all. She did not want to have to relearn the lines and become accustomed to another person filling Cesario's shoes; for the past two months Emma had done well enough. She played a very convincing man, which wasn't that astonishing, if Regina thought about it. Emma already walked like a linebacker, and was tough and tomboyish in her characteristics. It made sense, then, for her to play a woman pretending to be a man.

Regina's character, Olivia, was a little more complex. Olivia was regal, a lady, accustomed to being treated as such. In the story, she was mourning the loss of her brother and father. Regina could relate to her as well—it was interesting how that worked out.

Emma Swan showed up late for rehearsal, probably thinking she could slack off since it was the last practice anyway. But Gayle gave her grief over her tardiness and Regina snickered. It was nice to see Miss Swan be scolded by someone who wasn't her for a change. Not that Regina didn't like getting the Sherriff angry. No, she rather liked it. She liked getting Miss Swan's attention, even if it was negative.

Regina and Emma's scenes were well acted, both of them comfortable with their characters and meshing together. The chemistry was definitely there. Gayle noticed it, all the other actors noticed it. Except for the two people actually acting in the scene—they were too busy criticizing each other.

"You are supposed to stand over there, Miss Swan, then step back when I step closer. Don't you remember?"

"Yes, I do. You are the one screwing up. You're coming too close, and getting in my face!"

"Isn't that the idea?" Regina forgot they had an audience. She was getting tired of this. "You may hate me, Emma, but in this play, my character loves yours. So just forget that you're you, and that I'm me. Make this real, for the people watching." Regina's voice was soft, almost pleading.

Emma's eyes softened as she looked into Regina's, and she returned her gaze. In that moment they both relaxed, even though they were still invading each other's personal space. The moment shattered when Gayle cleared her throat and called out for the end of rehearsal. The atmosphere of tension disappeared and Regina hurried home. She pushed the image of Miss Swan out of her head and made dinner for her and Henry. Their relationship was getting better. The fact that she and Emma could work together probably had something to do with that.

The only down side was that it was confusing. The feelings that had recently been bubbling up in her gut when she thought of Emma or when she thought about kissing her in the play—those were alien emotions, things she never thought she would feel in her life again. She was terrified to call it love, but it felt similar to that four letter word. It scared her so much. She kept telling herself that after the play, she and Miss Swan could go back to hating each other; there was no reason why they would have to be nice to each other. Things would go back to normal; Emma would avoid her like the plague and Henry…well, she wasn't sure what Henry would do. She and Henry had bonded because of everything that had happened in the past two months. She was afraid that if she kept fighting with Miss Swan, that newfound relationship with Henry would be decimated.

There was no way to win this, and Regina hated to lose.

Thanks for your reviews, everyone! They are much appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

No matter how much Emma liked to delude herself into thinking it, she was not invincible. Her scuffle with the oak tree a couple weeks back proved that. She figured that a week in the hospital was fine for full recovery, so the fact that there was still soreness there bothered her. She did not want to have to give up acting in _Twelfth Night_ all for a stupid cramp; she had worked so hard and she did not want to let Henry down. And if she was being completely honest with herself and her feelings—which she hardly ever was, because she liked to keep all of her feelings at bay—she didn't want to let Regina down either.

The past two months with the uptight Mayor had been exasperating, to say the least, but Emma had seen another side of Regina. She would catch glimpses of a softer, more human Regina, and she really liked what she saw. In their last rehearsal, they had a moment like that. Emma remembered it vividly. In the moment when Regina had pleaded with her to stay in character and forget that they were enemies, she had seen that Regina was not so different from her. That thought scared her initially, of course. She did not want to compare herself to Regina, not in her most horrible nightmares. But she saw that they were both women who were scared to trust, scared to feel; and that they both had spent most of their lives keeping anything akin to romance far away.

The Fall Festival was a grand affair for the people of Storybrooke; there were vendors selling food, like frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and tater pigs, (a sausage encased in a baked potato) and local musicians coming to play and show off their talents. Artists sold crafts mantelpieces, paintings and knick knacks, and there was an area for kids to play. Emma got off work early to drive over to Garrett Park and change into her costume, where the rest of the Shakespeare troupe was.

Stanley Ross, the man who was Sebastian in the play, looked happy to see Emma and helped her tie her hair back as she applied her stage makeup. The stage was outside, which was nice because it was only September so it wasn't too cold yet. It gave a nice feel to everything, and the trees were starting to turn orange and purple. Emma would remember to look at them if she got too nervous. She was really nervous now. She had never acted in a play before—well, unless you counted a Christmas Pageant she was in when she was five. She had played on of the angels in the choir and all she had to do was sing.

Not really something you could put on an acting portfolio, Emma mused. Stanley noticed that she was sweating profusely, and he laughed.

"Careful, you might sweat off your makeup." He gently turned her around to face him and touched her face gently with a cotton swab to stop the sweat. His eyes were soft, pliable, and he gazed into hers, which made her exceedingly uncomfortable.

"Um…yeah, thanks." She turned around to face the mirror again.

"So…I heard about what happened a couple weeks ago," Stanley mumbled shyly. "That was really brave of you, saving that woman. I'm sorry about your injury."

"Yeah, well, it's my job as Sherriff." Emma shrugged it off, not liking where this conversation was going.

"To help an old woman find her umbrella in the middle of a storm?" Stanley rose his eyebrows. "I don't think that was necessary."

"Well, I don't have a death wish, if that's what you're worried about." Emma snapped.

Stanley stepped back, putting up his hands in defense mode. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that—I just—I just think what you did was nice, and I was wondering if sometime…maybe you and I could—"

"Sherriff Swan." Regina's voice cut through what Stanley was saying and for the first time in her life, Emma was glad that Regina was around.

_Thank God,_ Emma thought as she turned around, seeing Regina in her costume. She didn't look like herself at all—it was like someone had finally pulled the stick that was lodged so tightly up her ass. She looked nice.

Her dress was black, because the character Olivia was supposed to be in mourning, but black definitely suited Regina. There was a black veil attached at the top of Regina's head, and the dress had puffed sleeves and the skirt ran down Regina's legs beautifully. She wore boots that accentuated every curve in her calves. Emma cleared her throat, hoping Regina would not catch her staring. She forced herself to meet Regina's eyes and tried to sound annoyed, not grateful.

"What do you want, Regina?"

"I was hoping you would make sure Miss Blanchard sits with Henry. I do not want him to sit alone."

Emma smiled. "Okay, I'll call her." She looked at Stanley with an apologetic look and said, "Maybe we could talk later?"

Stanley nodded awkwardly and watched her walk away with Regina.

"Thank you." The words were out of Emma's mouth before she could stop them, and they hung in the air around her and Regina until Emma cleared her throat and looked away, ashamed. Regina did not say anything for a full five seconds.

"You are thanking me?" _Yes, Captain Obvious._ "Whatever for?" Regina looked at the blonde, confusion and suspicion painted on her face.

Emma flushed. She figured that Regina knew what she was doing, knew that Stanley was about to ask her out, and that's why she had interrupted. Obviously she was wrong.

"Oh, um…that guy Stanley was um…you know, what? Never mind. Let me call Mary Margaret." She stepped away from Regina and leant against a tree, hearing the phone ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mary Margaret, it's Emma. Regina wanted me to ask you if you could sit with Henry during the play. It starts at 4:30. I know it's a lot to ask, but—"

"No, that's fine! I will be there—I'm excited to see it!"

Emma hung up, her nerves suddenly disappearing. She would get through this, for Henry.

FIFTEEN MINUTES EARLIER

Henry did not like being dragged around to the different booths, looking at useless things he found no interest or beauty in whatsoever. Every five minutes he would beg his mom to let him go to the kid's area and make something out of wood—there was a woodshop, and Marco was in charge. She relented, because it was time for her to change into her costume anyway. She told him to stay at the kid's area and she would come find him before the play.

She went to the stage and walked around the back, where makeshift dressing rooms had been set up. Her costume was waiting for her by the door and she smiled as she looked at it. She would look fantastic in this. She slipped it on quickly, loving how it hugged all of her curves, and it reminded her of the dresses she wore in the other world. It was familiar, yet the memories brought pains that she did not want to deal with. Not now.

She stepped out of the dressing room and heard two people talking to her right. She looked over at the Sherriff putting on the last of her makeup, dressed in a simple frock and a nice vest, with sleeves that billowed out. Regina shook her head. She did NOT find Miss Swan attractive. She was her enemy, they were just acting together in a play. Where she, Olivia, loved her. And they had to kiss. Regina shook her head again, more violently. This was not helping. Neither was the conversation that Regina was hearing. It appeared that buffoon of a man, Stanley Ross, was flirting with Sherriff Swan.

Unwanted waves of jealousy wracked through Regina, almost making her clutch her stomach in pain. Her breath became shallow; she did not know what the hell was happening to her. Why did this woman evoke such strong emotions from her? She prided herself on her control, on her icy disdain and total dominance, yet she felt so powerless as her eyes raged when Stanley put his hands on Emma's shoulders and turned her around. Her skin prickled as he practically fell all over her, saying she was brave. The final straw was when he said "maybe you and I could—" Regina certainly did not want to hear the end of that sentence, so she spoke, rather loudly, in her usual authoritative tone.

"Sherriff Swan." The words came out, rushed, urgent, because she knew she needed to say them. She needed to save Emma from this man who was not really that attractive, anyway. She was far more attractive…she should be the one who—

She would not permit herself the finish the thought. Instead she focused on Emma, watching her as she rolled her eyes and turned to look at her. She smiled to herself as she felt Emma's eyes take in her dress.

"What do you want, Regina?" Emma asked, seemingly tired and annoyed.

Regina had to think of something. Fast. "I was hoping you would make sure Miss Blanchard sits with Henry. I do not want him to be sitting alone." _There, great response time,_ Regina congratulated herself.

Emma looked oddly relieved at this point. "Okay, I'll call her."

Regina walked ahead of Emma, hearing her mumble something to Stanley about catching up with him later, and that flood of jealousy washed over her again. It was annoying, Regina thought, that she, the Evil Queen, the person capable of cursing a whole world to another, was now letting her feelings dictate her actions. How weak she felt!

And yet, when Emma thanked her, her head buzzed and she felt like she was floating. She could not let Emma see that, though. When Emma turned away, she schooled her expression into one of indifference and confusion.

"You are thanking me? Whatever for?" It was cruel, she knew. She did not care at this point. What else could she do? Confess her feelings for the Sherriff, get rejected and make a total ass of herself? That was not an option.

Sherriff Swan started to mutter something unintelligible. Then she went and called Miss Blanchard.

Regina sighed in relief. She had dodged that bullet. So why did she still feel like she was in danger? And why did guilt prickle at her?

Gayle Bernard clambered onto the stage, taking in the moderately sized crowd splayed out on the grass. She smiled, and took the microphone.

"Welcome, everyone, the the 10th annual Storybrooke Fall Festival! We have a special treat for you today—we are putting on Shakespeare's _Twelfth Night or What you Will_, and I hope you all enjoy it!" With that, Gayle jumped off the stage and turned the microphone off.

Emma took a deep breath and walked out onto the stage, hoping against hope that her knees would not buckle, or that she wouldn't have a heart attack at the sight of all the people watching her every move. She knew for a fact that picturing them naked wouldn't work, because Henry was part of the audience. How gross would that be? So she decided she would just pretend no one was there, and think of the 'four wall' concept that Gayle had talked about. She spoke, trying to enunciate loud and clear.

"What country, friends, is this?"

"This is Illyria, Lady." Frank, whose character was the captain of the ship, answered.

"And what should I do in Illyria? My brother he is in Elysium." Emma tried so hard to feel Viola's pain, to channel the angst deep inside of herself. She suddenly had a flash image in her mind of Regina, a look of indifference on her face. Regina, who, after Emma had saved the woman's freaking life, just complained. Regina, who made Emma's life a living hell.

Emma could channel pain and sorrow just fine.

The play went perfectly until Cesario and Andrew Aguecheek's fight scene. To her dismay Emma had been having bouts of pain sweep through her ribs and abdomen, so painful that at times she found herself doubling over and gasping for air. She had been getting fainter with every scene, and even though she could put on a brave face and muddle through, Regina had noticed how pale Emma was. And she did not like it.

"Emma, you're on in one minute." Gayle informed her. Emma plastered on a smile and right when the director's back was turned, she groaned in pain. Regina did not like seeing Emma in this much pain, which told her she was turning into a big softie. But that did not matter. She did not want to sit and watch Emma put herself through more anguish. It was admirable how she was powering through this, all for Henry. Emma walked out onto the stage and the Mayor watched anxiously. The Sherriff was getting whiter by the minute and the other actors were starting to realize something was up. Emma was so stupid sometimes, Regina mused. Why did she torture herself like this? The blonde had raised her sword, ready for the stage fight, and that's when it happened.

She fainted.

Before Regina's brain could register that her body was moving, she was on the stage, cradling Emma's head in her lap. Gayle rushed out onto the stage, and the audience started to murmur nervously. Emma was out cold. Regina started to push on her chest, administering CPR. She didn't notice the tears welling up in her eyes and didn't care that there were a hundred people watching. She opened Emma's mouth and placed her lips on the blonde's, pushing as much air as she could into the other woman's lungs. Soon Henry was beside her, along with Miss Blanchard, begging for Emma to wake up. Regina continued to breathe air into Emma's body.

Miraculously, the blonde choked out air and her eyes opened, the other actors sighing in relief. Emma looked up at Regina, who was still holding her head in an almost affectionate way. Regina quickly shifted her body, straightening up.

Emma groaned. "Why does this shit keep happening to me?"

"Maybe because you're cursed," Regina said grimly.


	5. Chapter 5

Now they were even.

Emma had saved Regina's life—she had pulled her out of a burning building. Regina had saved Emma from suffocation. It may not have been as heroic, but it still counted. They didn't owe each other any more favors; things could go back to normal. They could go back to the antagonistic relationship that was familiar and comfortable for them both. They did not need to talk about how Regina cried over Emma's unconscious body in the hospital, or how she stopped her from going out with Stanley, or how whenever they were in a room together, they felt the need to stand a foot or less apart from each other. No, they didn't need to talk about any of that, because things were finally back to normal.

The play had been a disaster, what with the main character fainting and all. Emma had been taken to the hospital again, and made to stay another week, because apparently the nerves and over-exertion of acting had made her ribs tense up, which had caused her to pass out. Emma decided to thank the Mayor for saving her, even though she wondered why exactly Regina had to give her CPR. She could have just poured some cold water on Emma's face; that would have done the trick. That's what Emma would have expected Regina to do. But no, she had chosen to do something a lot more—intimate. Why? Emma did not understand this.

And she wouldn't let it go. When her week at the hospital was up, she tried to focus on going back to work, reading the utterly pointless paperwork that littered her desk. Emma almost wished that Storybrooke was riddled with crime, because being Sherriff was no fun if she was going to sit at a desk all day, filing stupid cold cases and other shit that didn't matter. So she did what she usually did when she was bored and needed something to entertain her. She went to the Mayor's office. The Mayor pretended to be busy; Emma could see right through that act. As soon as Emma entered the room, Regina bent her head over her paperwork, determined to ignore Emma's presence. She was just hell-bent on making this as hard as she could for the blonde.

Emma cleared her throat. "Madame Mayor—"

"Sherriff, anyone with eyes could see that I am busy. I have to write up a report for this month's city funds, and I would appreciate it if you would let me get back to it. Set up an appointment with my secretary if you must."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry—I just came by to thank you for saving my life, but I guess you don't give a shit anyway. Why didn't you just let me lay there until the medics arrived?" The question that had been bouncing around the Sherriff's brain spilled out.

Regina's first reaction was shock, but she recovered quickly. She frowned next. "Do you really think I'm the type to just stand by while someone suffers?"

"Um, yeah!" Emma said, her tone spelling out _DUH._

"Henry would never forgive me if something happened to you. I had to make sure nothing would."

"So that's why you gave me unnecessary CPR? What were you trying to do, cop a feel or something?" Emma was being bold, she knew, but she couldn't help herself.

The look on Regina's face was priceless. She was, for once, utterly speechless. It took her body several seconds to stop tingling, and as soon as she could find her voice, it came out scratchy, deep. Nothing like her own.

"As—as you can see, Sherriff," she began, hating where the conversation had gone, "I have a lot of work to do. So if you would be so kind…" She trailed off, and turned back to her desk, hoping the Sherriff would not see the blush creeping onto her cheeks. Her hip accidentally hit the corner of the desk and she winced. She was becoming nervous. She was turning into a clumsy, love-crazed hormonal teenager, all because of the woman standing in front of her mahogany desk, who was smirking like an idiot.

"Right, okay. See you around then." Emma turned and walked out, unable to keep the grin off of her face.

So much for things going back to normal, Regina thought. She could not believe what had just happened. Sherriff Swan knew. She had called her out. She KNEW. This was terrible. It could not happen. What happened to all of Regina's self-control? She had controlled everything and everyone in the town, until the blonde tornado showed up. Now all of the rules that Regina had constructed for herself were being broken. She had promised herself she would never fall in love again; she would never feel anything for anyone, because it was just too painful. And for all of the people in the world who could challenge that rule, it just had to be Miss Swan.

What had she ever done to deserve this? Oh, right. Cursed a million people. Killed her own father. Killed Graham just so he wouldn't date Emma. Made Snow White suffer immensely, in this world and the other one. Kept her apart from her true love. Screwed the Mad Hatter out of being with his daughter. Lied to Rumpelstiltskin about his girlfriend. Was that it? No, there was more. Lots more.

But that still didn't explain why she deserved to be humiliated by someone as infuriating as Miss Swan.

"You guys are so cute, it's making me sick. Get a room before I puke." Emma complained with a playful twinkle in her eye.

August and Ruby were entangled in each other's arms, not listening to a word Emma was saying. They were all sitting in Granny's diner, and Ruby was on one of her frequent breaks. Emma had to wave her arms around her head to get the new couple's attention, and when she did they both had smiles the size of Jupiter on their faces. _Young love_, Emma thought. _How annoying._

Emma had played a weird sort of matchmaker in Ruby and August's case. The fact that Emma had landed in the hospital two times in one month made them realize that life was too short. August had admitted his feelings for Ruby and now they were going out, casually. It had only been a week, so they were still very much in the honeymoon phase.

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Ruby asked, noticing the glum look on the blonde's face.

"Um…nothing. I just had a long day at work."

"Yeah, sure. Okay."

"I think Regina has a crush on me." The words slipped out, and Emma covered her mouth in astonishment.

August's mouth went slack and he started to laugh, thinking that Emma was just screwing with them. "Yeah, right."

Emma sat up straighter and looked around, uncomfortable, in case anyone would overhear. It was later in the evening, so not many people were left in the diner. Leroy was sitting in a table near the far side of the room, so Emma figured she was safe.

"I mean it. She got all weird when I was at her office yesterday."

"And why were you there?" Ruby interjected.

"To thank her for saving my life."

Ruby laughed. "Right, because _that's_ what she was doing when she decided to practically lie on top of your unconscious body and lay one on you."

Emma looked at her, relieved. "So you see it too?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "The whole town does. Except for him, apparently." Ruby nudged her new boyfriend in the ribs.

"Yeah, well, how do you know, though? I mean, she could have just been shocked and didn't know what else to do. She could have thought that CPR was the only option—"

"The better question is, how could I NOT know? You two have so much chemistry, it's insane. The fact that neither of you sense it is even more insane. Why do you think Gayle casted you as Cesario and Olivia in the play? It was BECAUSE YOU TWO EYE FUCK ALL THE TIME!"

Leroy definitely heard that little exclamation. He sauntered up to the trio, his eyes bearing a mischievous glint.

"Who eye fucks all the time?"

"None of your business, Leroy. I got to go home and get some sleep. Ruby, don't say anything." Emma gave her a final glare and walked out.

Leroy watched her leave and turned sipped his beer. "It's her and the Mayor, isn't it?"

Ruby shrugged. "She told me not to say. But hell yes."

Emma could not sleep. Thoughts of Regina hammered inside her head until it was too painful to breathe, and she couldn't get into a comfortable position no matter what she did. She had to fix this, and make it go away. The things Ruby said kept scampering to the forefront of her mind. _BECAUSE YOU TWO EYE FUCK ALL THE TIME._ Emma couldn't believe that. When did she and Regina have time to eye fuck, as Ruby put it, when they were so focused on hating each other's guts? This couldn't be real; it was just Ruby reading too much into things. But Emma would not leave it up to chance, so she decided to do something about it.

Regina was settling into her nightly routine: a glass of wine with a book in her study, when she heard a faint knock at the door. She put down _Paradise Lost _and went to answer it, grumbling to herself. She was surprised to see the Sherriff standing there like a deer in the headlights, and she hated to admit it, but she got extremely uncomfortable.

"Sherriff, it is ten o'clock. You had better have a good explanation as to why you come knocking at my door at such an ungodly hour. Henry is asleep, so I assume you—"

"Can you just shut the fuck up? For once?"

Regina had to give it to the Sherriff, she certainly kept surprising her. She said nothing.

"Thank you. Look, I just came by because I wanted to…um…" Emma was losing her courage. Why had she come here again? This was a stupid idea. "I'll just go, it's nothing."

Emma turned to leave, but Regina reached her arm out and grabbed onto the blonde's. "No, you don't get to run this time, Miss Swan. You came here for something, some reason. It has nothing to do with Henry, so it must be about me. What is it?"

Damn this woman. Damn this whole situation. Emma grumbled. She was groping in the dark, and that was a scary feeling in and of itself. "When we were in the play, you—you were nicer. I mean, I saw times when you were softer, more vulnerable. I didn't want to see that, because it was harder to hate you then. But it made me think that you and I were not that different. But now…now I guess I was wrong, the whole time." Emma took a breath

Regina donned an evil smirk. "Good speech. I can assure, you Sherriff, all you and I will ever be—" she got into Emma's face, just to taunt her, because this was just too tempting—"Is enemies. It is foolish for you to think any different. Good evening." Regina moved to shut the door in her face, but Emma was too quick. She shoved her way into the house, and before Regina could say anything, Emma's lips crashed onto hers.

It was aggressive, that kiss. Regina stepped back, determined to end it, but Emma pushed right back, stepping forward. Her hands slipped up behind Regina's back, and they stepped together into the study. Emma shut the door with her foot, her lips never leaving Regina's. Regina could not stand this. She had to fight it, but found that all the efforts she made to end the kiss were overridden by the blonde staunchly forcing her lips onto hers again. She would push her back, saying that it was inappropriate—but she would get cut off midsentence. She soon learned it was futile to try. She let Miss Swan have her fun. To her horror, she was enjoying their kiss as well. Emma's lips tasted like beer, which would normally be disgusting to Regina's senses. But it mixed nicely with the taste of wine still lingering on her tongue, and the way that she was holding her, like she would never let her go, made Regina's knees go weak.

Finally, they broke apart for some much needed oxygen. Emma's pupils were dilated to twice their size. "That was…holy shit."

Regina laughed, a deep, lusty chuckle. "Yes, I am a good kisser. You are not so bad yourself."

Emma looked at her, unsure of what to do next. "I would love to um…do that again, if you like."

Regina nodded. She would like that very much. "I think something could be arranged." Regina smirked. She could handle this. A casual fling with the Sherriff would be very pleasing to her. Sex was a great stress reliever and Miss Swan would be perfect for that. She took a breath to list her stipulations, but was cut off by Emma.

"I have rules, though." Emma started. Regina stepped back, curious.

"Number one: You have to call me Emma. If you call me Miss Swan, or Sherriff Swan, I will ignore you." At the skeptical look on Regina's face, she added, "I mean it. I'll pretend not to hear you.

"Number two: You and I have to go on a date. In public. I will not sneak around with you, so you can forget about that." Regina sighed audibly. _Damn it._

_ "_I think that's it. I'll call you later for our first date." Emma couldn't help feel weird as she said that. A good weird, though.

Regina had had enough. "What makes you think I don't have rules, Miss Swan?"

Emma ignored her, turning to leave, which just pissed Regina off more. "Miss Swan, get back here!"

"That's not my name, Regina."

_Oh, right. The stupid rules._ "Fine. Emma, get back here."

The Sherriff walked reluctantly back into the study.

"Sit."

Emma sat, getting the odd sensation that something bad was going to happen.

"If we are going to be involved, Miss—Emma, we are going to do it my way."

Emma's face fell. "So that's it. You use sex as a weapon, to make people submit to you. That's all sex is for you, isn't it?"

The blonde continued. "I mean, heaven forbid you actually feel something. No, that can't happen for you. Well, I hope you enjoy being lonely, Madame Mayor. I should get going. Good night." Emma stood up, striding over to the door.

"Wait!" Regina couldn't keep the desperation out of her tone. She sighed. She would probably end up regretting this, but…she could NOT let Miss Swan—Emma—walk away. She had felt something deep stir inside of her during their kiss, and if she was being honest with herself, she had felt it so many times before. Times when she and Emma were arguing, and they stood a little too close, or their gazes lingered a little too long. She decided to let her feelings guide her, and so she took a leap of faith.

"We can play by your rules, Emma." Regina winced. She would have to get use to calling the Sherriff by her first name.

The joy emanating from Emma was almost childlike. "Cool. Good night, Regina. I'm going to take you some place extra special for our date. But I think you should tone down your wardrobe a bit, because where we're going isn't exactly classy." Emma clasped her hands excitedly, gave Regina a peck on the cheek, and dashed out of the door and out of the mansion. She knew that if she said much more, Regina would have a heart attack.

As Regina watched her get in her bug and drive away, she folded her arms around herself. A part of her already regretted this. But a huge part, the more powerful, emotional part, did not. Not at all.

She was excited for her date, even though she had no idea what it was. And what the hell was she supposed to wear?


	6. Chapter 6

**I just want to warn you all, this is my fluffiest chapter yet. I mean like romance, cuteness and rainbow glitter. So enjoy!**

Emma was SO nervous. It was crazy; she had been on so many dates before—most of them with men—but she had always been able to handle herself, and not get too emotionally attached. She was already attached to Regina, and they had only kissed once. Well, twice, if you counted the play. So much for one nighters being as far as she ever went, she grumbled to herself. She was so gone over Regina; she just knew she was going to say something stupid, or do something stupid, and it would screw everything up.

Her voice had trembled when she had asked the brunette out, telling her she would pick her up at 7:30 on Friday. It was 5:30. Emma had just gotten home from the Sherriff's office and she was trying to think of anything besides her pending date with the Mayor of Storybrooke. She turned her radio on, switched to a classic rock station and tried to get lost in the noise, but the tunes just ended up making her horny. Funny how rock music did that.

She heard a knock on her door and got up from the horizontal position. She opened the door a crack.

"Hey, Emma." It was Mary Margaret. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the Farmer's Market with me? It's the last week they're having it, before winter." The schoolteacher looked at her, hopeful.

"No, sorry…I would, but I have other plans tonight." _Please don't ask what, please don't ask—_

"Oh, what?"

Emma grunted. "I um…I have a date."

To her credit, Mary Margaret did not get all mushy and sappy about it. Not quite. Her eyes lit up, and she looked happy for the blonde. She knew Emma was lonely, and needed someone, though if you asked her, she would deny it. Mary Margaret was just happy that she had found someone she had something in common with.

"That's great, Emma. Can I ask who it is, or is that too personal?"

Emma smiled. "It's too personal, at this point, anyway. If things go well with Re—with this person, I might tell you. Now I really should get ready for my date." She moved to close the door, but Mary Margaret hung on the door frame, another question etched on her face.

"If things go well…" Mary Margaret processed this. "You mean, you're planning on there being more than one date?" Mary Margaret could not contain her surprise.

"Yeah, hopefully. What are you grinning about?" Emma raised her eyebrows at her roommate, who had an ecstatic smile on her face, like world peace had finally been accomplished.

"Nothing…It's just that when I first met you, you would never have said that. You are growing, Emma, and I am proud of you!"

Mary Margaret got the door practically shut in her face.

Regina dropped Henry off at the Nolans, knowing he would enjoy spending time with David. Something about his book, surely, though Henry had not talked with her about it much. Lately the things she and Henry discussed revolved around school, Emma, and occasionally his comics, which Regina would read with him some nights. That was something Regina had missed…the closeness. It was slowly coming back, and Regina did not know what had brought that on, but she loved it. She held onto it, onto her son, with every fiber of her being. It was hard to be secretive with him about why exactly she wanted him to spend the evening with the Nolans, but she was not ready to tell Henry about the fact that she was going on a date with the Sherriff. She was sure he would take it badly. If she was breaking one of Emma's rules, then so be it.

Emma picked her up at 7:30 on the dot, and Regina was pleased to see she had managed to teach Emma something about punctuality, at least where she was concerned. Regina had no desire to take Emma's car, so she tried to bribe Emma by saying she could drive her Mercedes. But Emma just spouted off another rule, making Regina's nostrils flare.

"Rule number three: If _I_ ask you out, we have to take my car."

Regina stomped her foot impatiently on the driveway. "Really, Emma, this is ridiculous! Look at that car! I wouldn't be surprised if you got it from the circus. I half expect clowns to come climbing out of it and blowing confetti in my face!"

Emma stepped back. "Ouch."

Regina found herself apologizing and sticking her foot deep in her mouth, saying that they could take Emma's car, if they must. Emma grinned and opened the door for Regina, who was grateful that the door didn't fall off.

They drove to the local race tracks, a little place that was only used on the weekends called _Fast Track All Star_, and Regina breathed a sigh of relief. Up to this point, she had expected Miss Swan to take her to a barn raising where she would have to shovel horse poop, or a dinky little restaurant that served fried food she wouldn't touch with a 40 foot pole. She had immediately assumed the worst. So when they pulled up to the festive little lot, where people were laughing and having fun, she smiled. Emma actually had good taste. And she knew how to treat a date. Emma jumped out of the car and opened the door for Regina again, which Regina secretly loved, though she didn't show it. She took in her surroundings and walked with Emma to the gate, where Emma paid for them both. Regina moved to get her wallet, but Emma had balked, saying that it was her treat.

They managed to find a seat on some stone cold bleachers, sandwiched between a bunch of rowdy teenagers and drunken old men—but though Regina complained like a five-year-old, she was enjoying herself. She was wearing a collared shirt and nice black pants, because she had ignored Emma's warning to dress down. She regretted that decision when a 17-year-old next to her accidentally squirted some mustard on her shirt, then tried to cop a feel when he was wiping it off. Emma saw him and waved him off.

"Get lost, kid. She's with me."

Regina would gladly get squirted with ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise over and over, if only to hear Emma say those words again. She did not let her emotions show, though. She sat up straight and looked at Emma, trying to give her a cold smirk.

"I can take care of myself, Emma. I do not need you protecting me." She watched the 17 year old walk away and sit with a group of his friends, most likely talking about how he managed to touch the Mayor's boobs.

"I know, but you are my date. Admit it, you liked me defending you." Emma nudged Regina playfully and then moved away. Regina missed the contact immediately.

"The races are about to begin. Which car do you think will win?"

They ended up having a wonderful time, staying at the race track until 10:00 and Emma walked Regina to the door, like a traditional date. She lingered on the steps, knowing what would come next, only if Regina wanted it too. Regina gladly acquiesced and leant her head in, ready to feel the blonde's lips on hers. Then she remembered Henry. She had left him at the Nolans, much later than she had planned. She had never expected her date to last that long, or for Emma to be so damn charming, enchanting and chivalrous.

"I have to go pick Henry up." Regina breathed, stepping back from the kiss that was about to happen.

Emma tried not to show her disappointment. "I can go pick him up," she volunteered. She did not want the night to be over yet.

Neither did Regina. "Fine, you can go. Make sure he doesn't leave any of his things there. The last time he stayed he left his jacket and—"

"Relax, Regina. He will not freeze to death, I promise." Emma swung the door of her yellow bug open and climbed in, pulling out of Regina's long driveway in record time.

While Emma was gone, Regina changed her shirt that was now reeking with mustard. She did not want to kiss the Sherriff like that. It was time to stop living in denial; Regina had an overwhelming attraction to Emma, and it had only gotten more powerful tonight, on their date. Part of Regina had thought that she would eventually lose interest in the blonde, but the opposite was true. She had had her first taste, and now she wanted so much more. She yearned to hold Emma, to kiss her until she could take no more. She wanted to be near her, to become part of her.

She waited the fifteen agonizing minutes that Emma was gone, sitting in her study, her knuckles stuck on her lap. When Emma finally pulled up, she jumped out of her seat, running to the door. Her hand brushed Henry's hair and she told him to go get ready for bed, which he gladly did. Emma stood on the steps, unsure of whether to come inside or to just leave, and Regina could not wait another second.

She ran out of the door—in her heels—and grasped the blonde's arms, holding her like a lifeline. She gazed into her eyes and saw the surprise, yes, but also desire and yearning. Regina slowly moved closer, cautiously testing the waters. She breathed five breaths before she closed her lips onto Emma's tasting her like she had just had chocolate for the first time. Emma responded, snaking her arms behind Regina's back, then up to her neck, gently stroking it with her thumbs. It was so right, in that moment, that neither woman wanted it to end. Both of them wondered why they had not done this months ago.

"We should do this again," Emma breathed, when they broke apart.

Regina smiled, a full beautiful smile that held nothing back. "Of course, Sherriff. But I get to pick the place."

Emma tried to look mad. "What did I tell you about calling me Sherriff? My name is Emma; it's in the rules."

Regina chuckled, holding onto Emma's jacket, still standing close. "Right, the rules. It so happens that I have a rule of my own. And it is: No sex until the fifth date."

"WHAT? Oh, now you're just being cruel!"


	7. Chapter 7

It was a herculean task, waiting five dates for sex, but Emma Swan did it, much to Regina's surprise. She had been sure that Emma would not be able to check her libido for that long, but apparently the Sherriff could be patient when she really wanted something. Regina was flattered to see that the thing Emma wanted, the thing she could wait for, was her.

That meant more to her than she thought. It meant that to Emma, this wasn't just a game. Regina was not just a fling to her, and that fact scared Regina a little bit. There was a reason neither woman had ever been in a committed relationship. It was the classic method of protection, never getting too close to anyone, and pushing them away if they tried to connect. It was amazing that they had managed to connect in the way they had, even though they had taken the long way around.

They had hated each other from the beginning, because of Henry, because of how different they were, because of how they perceived each other. It was a snap judgment on both of their parts. They had wasted so much time, making empty threats, giving hateful glares, fighting—sometimes physically. They fought because they did not know how else to deal with each other.

Regina tried to focus on her paperwork, but could not help herself from stealing glances at the clock above the doorway. It was a quarter to 6, and Regina was taking Emma to an art gallery featuring Van Gogh's works. It had taken her a month to get the tickets, and she was very excited. She loved Van Gogh's way of perceiving the world; the bright colors and intense images he painted were very moving to her. She appreciated artwork very much. She hoped that Emma would like the surprise. She finished reading a complaint about kids being too loud on Main Street, then threw it away. What did the person expect her to do? Sometimes the responsibility of being Mayor was just too much.

She stepped out of her office at 5:50 and nodded to her secretary. It was Regina's way of saying, "I'm leaving early, you can show yourself out."

Regina walked out to the parking lot and sniffed the air. It was early October and the air was oddly smoky, like a forest fire had ignited somewhere close. She coughed and got in her car, driving to Emma's apartment.

She knocked on the door, pulling herself up to her full height. Mary Margaret would not intimidate her; that little lamb couldn't if she tried. If anyone was going to be scared shitless, it would be the goody-two-shoes schoolteacher. Regina grinned evilly, thinking how interesting it was that she was dating Snow White's daughter. She shook her head. It was too weird to dissect too much. The only comfort was that she was 100% sure that she and Emma were in no way related. She had done a DNA test to make sure.

On one of their dates—they had been the car, in the dark (Emma's idea) and Emma had started to get close and put her arm around Regina. She let Emma bring her face closer, and they had started to make out, heavily. Regina had tangled her hands in Emma's hair and tried to be subtle—

"OW!" Emma's head whipped back and she looked at Regina, horrified. "What did you do?"

Regina tried to look as innocent as possible, which was difficult, under the circumstances. "What are you talking about?"

"You just pulled my hair! If you wanted me to stop, you could have just said—"

"I did not pull your hair. If I did it was an accident. Now is hardly the time to argue, we are alone, in the dark, in the middle of nowhere. So shut up and kiss me, you fool!"

Emma had gladly forgotten about the pain in her scalp as her mouth practically devoured Regina's. Regina had moaned—she couldn't help it—and put her hands on Emma's breasts, kneading them to hard mounds. She grinned as she felt them react to every move her hands made, pounding and pulsating to a beautiful rhythm. She kissed Emma harder, flicking her tongue in between the blond's teeth. Emma pushed Regina against the car window, unbuckling her belt—

It had been SO hard to stop. For both of them. But Regina had a rule, and she stuck to it.

But tonight was their fifth date. If Regina played her cards right, Emma Swan would be hers by the end of the night. She just had to get past Mary Margaret. She grumbled. That woman always stood in the way of her happiness, it seemed.

Regina breathed and raised her hand to knock on the door. Three knocks, sharp and authoritative. 7 seconds later,Mary Margaret flung the door open, her hair in a shower cap and her feet snuggled in a pair of blue fuzzy slippers. Regina couldn't help herself from smirking, not only at the schoolteacher's appearance, but at the 'I just shit a brick' look on her face. Her mouth was open in a little 'o' and her face was getting red. It was just too comical. The schoolteacher seemed to forget how to form words.

"Miss Blanchard," Regina greeted, smiling. "Is Emma here?"

A full five seconds passed before Mary Margaret answered. "Emma—oh, yes, Emma's just upstairs." The schoolteacher let Regina in and called for Emma. She did not know how to process what was happening. The mayor was in the middle of her living room, standing awkwardly, inevitably wary of sitting on any of the furniture. Or touching it. Why did she want Emma? Mary Margaret was immediately suspicious.

Emma strolled down the stairs, grumbling about having to wear a dress, then she saw Regina. Regina was wearing her usual outfit—a black pant suit with a white collared shirt. Mary Margaret rushed to Emma before she could talk to the mayor. The schoolteacher pulled Emma into the kitchen, which wasn't too helpful, because Regina could hear everything that was being said.

"What is she doing here? And why are you wearing…that?" Mary Margaret whispered.

Emma looked at her red dress and blushed. She had not thought about telling her roommate anything about her and Regina. It had slipped her mind entirely—she had been too focused on keeping busy with work. Now she realized that maybe she should have given a hint or two.

"Um…Regina is taking me somewhere…she told me to dress up so she doesn't look bad."

"So, she's taking you somewhere classy?" Mary Margaret narrowed her eyes. "I don't like it."

Emma laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"You two are enemies, and all of a sudden she decides to be nice to you? You know her better than that, Emma. She has an angle, some catch. I don't like the possibilities—"

"Sorry to interrupt, but we really should be going, I like to be punctual." Regina's steely voice cut through the schoolteacher's suspicious one. "Good evening, Miss Blanchard." Regina walked to the door, hearing Emma's footfalls behind her. She opened the door for the blonde and gave one last glare to Mary Margaret before closing it.

"You look nice, Emma." Regina said sincerely.

"Thanks. But why the hell aren't you wearing a dress? If I have to, it's only fair—"

"I would have, but I did not have time to change. The place I am taking you is only open for two hours, and we have to get there on time, or we may not get in." Regina opened her car door and practically sped out of the parking lot.

"You're speeding!" Emma gripped onto her seatbelt.

"What are you going to do? Give me a ticket?"

"I won't be able to if you crash and we both fucking die!" Emma's voice was panicked. "Where the hell are we going, anyway?"

"You'll see."

Emma pretended to be totally engrossed in every painting in the goddamn gallery. Not that she didn't like art—she enjoyed it, but she never knew Van Gogh painted so many pieces. There were at least a hundred paintings in the exhibit, and Regina was determined to look at every one, and stand in front of them, just staring at them, like they held some secret, some window that she could escape into. Emma stood by her and just watched her expression. At some paintings, Regina would point every difference in color, every paint stroke. It bored Emma to death, but Regina was so engrossed in it that Emma could not pull her away.

She enjoyed seeing Regina so passionate about something. It made her remember why she was head over heels in love with this woman. The art was beautiful, of course. Emma could not deny that. When the couple came to the painting _Starry starry night,_ Regina stationed herself in front of it, tears welling up in her eyes. Emma freaked out a little, wondering what was happening to the usually so well put together mayor. She had never seen Regina this emotional.

Was it opposite day or something? Had someone turned the fucking world upside down, and she didn't notice?

After the gallery closed, Regina walked with Emma to her Mercedes. Emma expected to be driven back to her apartment, because somehow she had forgotten that tonight was their fifth date. When Regina turned onto a completely different street, Emma frowned. She realized all too late where they were going.

They pulled up to the Marriot, and Regina parked the car. She looked over at Emma, and Emma almost swooned. The mayor was looking at her with such sincerity that it knocked the wind out of the blonde's lungs. Regina knew how to work bedroom eyes, that was for sure. The dark orbs were screaming for Emma.

"Well, here we are." Regina broke the cloyingly thick silence.

"Um…yeah." Emma's brain had stopped working. "Is..is Henry going to be okay tonight?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Of course. He is spending the night at Nicholas and Ava's house. Do you really think I would just leave him?"

"No—I just…"

"Enough talking. Tonight I want to do much more." Regina stepped out of the car and made her way to the passenger's side. She opened the door and held out her hand for Emma to take. Emma grasped it and they walked hand in hand to the door of the hotel, each of them with butterflies in their stomachs.

Regina took a shower while Emma sat on the bed, nerves overtaking her. She and Regina were going to make love. Tonight was the night, and Emma was not going to mess it up. She would not run, not this time. This would not just be a one night stand. It was a big step to take, the whole commitment thing. But Emma was sure if she did run, Regina or Henry would find her and drag her back to them, so there was really no point.

Regina came out of the bathroom in a black bathrobe (she had stowed an overnight bag in her car) and sat next to Emma. She sensed Emma's nervousness and gently brought her hand to hold Emma's face. It was so tender, so gentle. Emma smiled, and kissed Regina. The woman before her was someone no one else in Storybrooke had ever seen. Not even Graham.

Emma slowly pulled Regina's robe down, revealing a black bra and panties. She admired Regina's full breasts and stood up, pulling Regina up with her. She kissed her hard, determined to be in control, just for a little bit. She bit on Regina's lip, and so the battle for dominance began. Regina pushed Emma back, lust filling her eyes. She circled Emma, standing behind her. She began to unzip her dress and Emma slipped out of it quickly. She turned and started to kiss Regina again, but Regina would have none of it. She stepped back and started to undo her own bra, teasing Emma with peeks at her breasts. Emma slipped out of her underwear and soon, the two of them were totally naked. They met passionately, their lips, breasts, hands and thighs touching each other's.

Emma's skin was deliciously warm, Regina thought. She laid Emma gently down on the bed, feeling Emma's breasts with her fingers, watching as the mounds rose up on contact. She flicked her tongue on one nipple, and was rewarded with a loud moan from Emma's lips. She sucked down on her left nipple, then on the right. She trailed every inch of Emma's skin, watching Emma's rib cage rise and fall quicker.

Finally, her tongue found Emma's clitoris, and here she smelled the most entrancing scent. She had not known women could smell so good. It was new for her, but she appeared to be doing a good job, if Emma's physical response was any indication. She opened Emma's legs wide and fingered her center, exploring, experimenting. Soon, Emma was coming hard and full in an orgasm that left her breathless.

Emma flipped Regina onto her back. "Now it's my turn."

The next morning, Regina found herself pressed against Emma's back, while her own arms encircled the blonde. Panic overtook her for a second. She wondered if she had made a mistake. Maybe she had fallen too hard, too quickly. Maybe all this was for Emma was a fling.

While Regina was debating with herself over what she should do, Emma woke and turned to Regina, smiling.

"Good morning. Do you want breakfast? I can order room service."

Then Regina knew she had not made a mistake.


	8. Chapter 8

Mary Margaret frowned as Emma practically stumbled into the apartment at 11:00 that morning, her hair all mussed up and her face contorted into a shit-eating grin. The wheels in the schoolteacher's head were turning; she knew that look. Pure pleasure danced on Emma's face, and she nodded in Mary Margaret's direction.

"Hey, Mary Margaret," Emma practically beamed. "I was just—I had night duty last night and fell asleep at the station." Emma grimaced inwardly at the lie. She and Regina agreed not to tell anyone yet, though, so lying to her roommate was the price she had to pay. It made her feel so guilty.

"Really?" Mary Margaret looked at her. "So, why so cheery this morning?" The schoolteacher wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the reason.

Emma wrung her hands. It was so hard to get past her roommate. She loved her, she was the closest thing she had to a best friend, but she really did not want to have this conversation. She didn't want to tell Mary Margaret that she had had the best sex of her life last night with a woman who the whole town was scared of. How would she react? Emma had no idea. So she used the chickenshit approach.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm always happy in the morning." That was another lie; Emma was definitely NOT a morning person, and her roommate knew it. The time that she had told Emma it was a beautiful day and Emma had practically snapped her head off for it was evidence enough.

"Okay," Mary Margaret responded, feeling the distance grow between them. Emma was hiding something from her, she knew that. It just hurt that Emma felt like she couldn't tell her what made her so happy…whatever it was.

Emma jogged upstairs, feeling like shit for lying. But once she thought of Regina, all the guilt faded away.

Henry's class had a wilderness excursion the following Wednesday, and Regina had come along, to supervise—and to spend time with Henry, when he wasn't busy pulling worms apart and dangling them in front of Ava's face, laughing at her expression of utter disgust. Regina smirked when she saw that. Henry had a crush on someone, and it was adorable. She knew that if she asked him about it, he would deny it; he was still in that Beaver Cleaver phase of thinking girls had cooties.

Regina sat on a log a ways away from the group, watching Mary Margaret show the kids a robin's nest. She sniffed the air—it was thick with smoke. She knew there had been forest fires around the area, due to the lack of rain they had had that summer. Unfortunately Regina could not control the weather, so the state of Maine was at risk for fires. The forest here was lush and green though, so Mary Margaret concluded it would be safe enough. But she was wrong.

The sun baked down on them for the better part of an afternoon, and then Regina saw it. Smoke was rising above the trees not far from where she was. She stood up quickly and shouted, pointing at the smoke. Mary Margaret quickly got the children in a line, but one child wasn't in the lineup.

Henry had gone to put the robin's nest back where Miss Blanchard had found it, blissfully unaware of the forest fire that was dangerously close by now. Regina cursed and ran after him, trying to shield her eyes from the smoke. She saw him near a clearing, where he carefully placed the nest, then turned around. He saw the smoke and started to run, but the smoke fogged his vision. Regina scrambled to him and put her arms around him, unable to speak because of the smoke.

She coughed and heaved Henry into her arms, and instantly her muscles screamed. Henry was a big boy. She took several wobbly steps and then a terrible thing happened. The wind caught the smoke and started a spark of fire that landed right on the path in front of them. The fire blazed and Regina had an instance of déjà vu. Only this time, no one was there to save her. She had to save Henry and herself, all alone.

Mary Margaret told the kids to wait by the bus and ran into the forest, calling Regina and Henrys' names. She couldn't let either of them suffer, she had to save them. There was no time to call the fire department; besides, they didn't handle forest fires. She took off her jacket and wrapped it around her mouth. She called again, barely able to see. She heard a muffled yell and ran in the direction of the noise.

Regina had Henry wrapped around her body, and Mary Margaret sighed in relief. She took Henry from her and led her out of trail onto the parking lot. Regina coughed and held Henry tightly, just to make sure he was okay. He insisted he was fine, as soon as he could breathe properly, and she watched him get on the bus. She hesitated and turned to Mary Margaret.

"Thank you, Miss Blanchard. I'm not sure I would have been able to get Henry out of there by myself."

Mary Margaret nodded. "Anyone would have done the same. I'm just glad you are okay." Mary Margaret patted Regina's arm, and Regina didn't pull away like she expected. This gave her a new flood of courage.

"You don't mind if I ask a question, do you?" The schoolteacher asked timidly.

"I suppose not. But we'd better get on the bus soon, or the driver will leave without us. I know he's not the most patient person in the world—"

"Are you seeing Emma?" Mary Margaret looked down, waiting to be turned into a toad.

Regina frowned at her like she had grown a third eye. "Well, Miss Blanchard," she began, slowly, "Last time I checked, Sherriff Swan was not invisible."

Mary Margaret gasped, taking a step back. "Oh, my God! You are!"

Regina rolled her eyes, infuriated by how damn invested the schoolteacher was in Emma's happiness. "Please keep your voice down. I don't need my son hearing our conversation." Regina breathed, glaring daggers at the younger woman.

"You haven't told him?" Mary Margaret was incredulous.

"No. Not that it is any of your concern. We were planning on telling him when it became more long-term…_if_ it does. How did you even find out?" Regina leaned onto the bus, ignoring the driver's impatient honks.

"I'm not stupid. I put two and two together. Emma got in at about 11 am, last Saturday, and that was the same day that you picked Henry up from Nicholas' and Ava's, at around 11:30. Also, it is hard for anyone not to see how you two look at each other." Mary Margaret stopped. This was probably not the best place or time to discuss this. She sidestepped the mayor and got onto the bus, and Regina followed, wondering if maybe she should have named Mary Margaret 'Sherlock Holmes' instead.

One question banged around in Regina's head as the bus drove back to Henry's school. If Miss Blanchard had suspected that Regina was dating Emma, then why had she saved her life?

Emma threw her badge on the desk, sighing. She was stuck on desk duty for the rest of the day, and Ruby wasn't even there to entertain her. She should be, Emma mused. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed her deputy's number. She was greeted by Ruby, who was panting. Emma grimaced.

"Hey, Ruby…August is with you, isn't he?"

"Yeah, and you interrupted us. What do you want?" Ruby's voice was raspy.

"You're on duty, remember? Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 12, and it's 9:30. Get over here!"

"Ems, there's nothing to do over there…"

"Yeah, but you can keep me company, because I am bored as fuck. And you get paid for doing absolutely nothing." Emma smirked.

"Fine. I'll be over in fifteen…or twenty." Ruby laughed and hung up.

Emma sighed and sat down at her desk, mulling over the endless paperwork that was piled onto it. Emma gave up on that after five minutes and just leaned back to daydream. She got startled when she felt her phone buzz, and answered it.

"Yeah?"

"Emma, Mary Margaret seems to have deduced that you and I are…together. This is a problem. I'll be over to discuss this with you soon. You're not busy, are you? No, of course you're not, what a pointless question." CLICK.

Emma stared at the phone like it offended her. And in a way, Regina had. She hadn't let her say a word.

Regina swept into the office, her usual self—except that her eyes held a huge amount of panic. She strode over to Emma's desk and leaned across it.

"Why are you so calm?" Regina exclaimed. "How can you just sit there? Say something!"

Emma shrugged. "I was just noticing how beautiful you look today."

A momentary glimpse of pleasure sailed across Regina's mouth. "This is not the time for that, Miss Swan…Emma. We are in a grave situation…Miss Blanchard could tell everyone, then Henry. What will happen to my reputation? And yours…" Regina added as an afterthought.

Emma got up from behind her desk and slid close to Regina. "Since when do you give a shit what people think? I thought you weren't scared of anyone. And as for Henry, I know Mary Margaret won't tell him. She'll leave that to us, when we are ready, ok? So can you just relax for a second?"

Regina smiled at Emma. "Yes, I suppose I can…but I may need your help."

That was all the invitation Emma needed. She cupped Regina's chin in her right hand and brought her mouth close, feeling Regina's breath on her mouth. She was about to close the distance when Ruby walked in.

"WOAH!" Ruby let out a yell that shook the whole room. Regina pulled away instantly and Emma almost fell over. She cursed Ruby inwardly and rolled off of the desk, straightening herself.

"Am I interrupting something? Because I can come back later…" Ruby smirked.

"No, Ruby…it's fine. Just get to work." Emma jabbed her finger in the direction of the files and Ruby groaned, organizing it for the millionth time.

Regina smiled, to Emma's relief. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter who finds out now, does it?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, the whole town is going to know by tomorrow. Trust me, I know Ruby."

Regina nodded. "We should make sure we tell Henry before then."

Henry was extremely uncomfortable.

The first reason was that his mom had invited Emma over. That raised suspicion in him immediately. She had not this because she wanted to, not because Henry persuaded her.

The second reason was that his two mothers had been weird all evening. They had not argued once, in fact, they were being _nice_ to each other. His mom had served Emma with a smile, asking her if she wanted more water. She was being the perfect hostess. This just wasn't right. Something was up. Henry shoveled his food down his throat and asked to be excused.

"Wait one moment, Henry." Regina stopped him. "We—Emma and I—have something to tell you."

That was another reason Henry was freaked out. His mom was calling Emma by her name, not her title. Reluctantly, he stayed in his chair, waiting patiently for someone to fill him in on what was going on.

"Kid..."Emma began. "We um…your mom and I—"

"Great start, Emma. But I think I'll start, seeing as you have an inability to form a sentence. Henry, Emma and I are friends now. I assume you already know that?"

Henry nodded. "Yeah, sort of. I'm glad you are friends…now will I be able to see Emma more often?"

Regina grimaced. "Yes, of course. But that is not what I am trying to say. We are a little more than just friends, dear. We…er…"

"We are dating, kid." Emma sighed, waiting for Henry to yell, or run, or start crying. She subconsciously inched her chair closer to Regina's, watching Henry's every expression.

Henry's eyes went wide, then he recovered. He nodded and just sat there, silent, gathering his thoughts. "How long?"

"How long, what, Henry?" Regina asked.

"How long have you been dating?"

"One month."

Henry felt betrayed…and really stupid for not knowing. His eyes teared up—he couldn't stop them. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We're telling you now, kid. We wanted you to know, and we both love you." Emma got up from her chair, bending down to Henry's eye level. "Are you mad at me?"

Henry looked into her eyes, with every intention of saying yes, he was mad. He was angry that the savior was dating the Evil Queen, putting a huge hitch in Operation Cobra. How could Emma do that? His mom was evil, right?

Henry looked at his mother. She was staring at him with such intensity, such love, that it took his breath away. Maybe she wasn't evil, just hurt and broken and scared. Maybe dating Emma was the thing that would put her back together. He sighed.

"No, Emma, I'm not mad. I just don't want you to keep secrets like that from me." Henry hugged her, then got up and hugged his mother, smelling the perfume on her neck. "Don't be scared, mom, Emma really likes you," he whispered.

Regina smiled and held Henry, unwilling to let him go.


End file.
